Hello, readers! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, however it was celebrated! Ours was very different this year, thanks to the threat of COVID 19, but I’m trusting that Christmas will be semi-normal.
I’m thrilled to bring back my “writing mama,” Kathy Cretsinger to the blog, with the main character in her current cozy mystery, Bogged Down By Murder. Daisy McQueen Greer is something else, and when you get to know her, you’ll want to rush out and buy the book!
To be entered into a drawing for your choice of paperback of Kindle version of Bogged Down By Murder, simply answer this question:
What is your favorite Christmas food? Is it healthy? If you’re like me, that last question will be answered with a resounding NO!! 🙂
Christmas with Daisy
Welcome, Daisy! It’s so good to have you as my guest today!!
Thank you, Miss Regina, for letting me be on your blog. I’d also like to thank my author, Kathy Cretsinger, for allowing me to take her place. I’m always happy to talk about Smart Living* and Christmas. I love Christmas.
(*FYI, “Smart Living” is a fictional company that has franchises for health and wellness centers all over the world! And she would have to go to Tennessee where butter, bacon grease, and lard are used to cook just about everything, and potatoes and mac-n-cheese are considered vegetables! Bless her heart! LOL)
I’m Daisy McQueen Greer, the owner of Smart Living and the main character in Bogged Down with Murder. This will be a couple of first for me. It will be the first time I’ve spent Christmas where it is cold. I’m hoping for snow, but we’ll have to wait and see. It’s also the first Christmas I’ll be spending with my husband, Harry Greer.
Christmas has always been special for my family. My granny would come down to Miami, Florida, from Shady Valley, Tennessee, and spend Christmas where it was warm. Although I enjoyed seeing Christmas lights on palm trees, it never seemed as natural as lights on evergreen trees. I’m going all out this year!
The house is almost decorated with plenty of pine branches around the fireplace, over the doors, and just about any place you can put them. It smells so good in here. Candles adorn the tables, especially the dining room table. There are Christmas trees decorated in the living room, Florida room, and upstairs on the landing. Harry keeps telling me no one will see the tree up there, but I will. I know it’s there.
My best friend and assistant at Smart Living will be here the week before Christmas. That makes Christmas more special. I’ve missed seeing Glory and talking to her. One of our employees, Liberty Garcia, is also here. She had to escape death to get here. You can read more of her story in the spring in Death by Doubloons.
We will open our gifts early on Christmas Day and then start preparations for our Christmas meal. I’m looking forward to having so many people around. It will be fun to have the house full of guests. Our guest list includes Mamaw, Harry’s grandmother; Liberty, our new resident in Shady Valley; Rick, one of our security people; Grace, the other security person; Bob, our head of construction; Glory, my assistant, Matt, the waiter at Speedway Grill; and of course, Harry and myself. I forgot to add Ralph Randolph, the sheriff, and a new resident, Miracle, who has a goat yoga farm.
What are we eating on Christmas Day? We have to have a turkey. All the trimmings that go with the turkey. There will be gluten-free dressing and gluten-free gravy. Since Shady Valley has several cranberry bogs they do not harvest, we will have cranberries from the store. The vegetables will be green beans, corn, sweet potato casserole, and probably something that Mamaw will fix. We will have as many gluten-free desserts as we can.
After we eat, the men will probably watch football, while we women clean up the kitchen and talk about girl things. We may even bring out a board game or two to play if we can get the men away from the television. Everyone from Bogged Down By Murder wishes you the best Christmas ever!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
About Bogged Down By Murder
City girl, Daisy McQueen, inherits her grandmother’s farm in the mountains of East Tennessee, Shady Valley to be exact. Daisy owns a company, Smart Living, that teaches people how to live healthily, and she is used to city life. Shady Valley only has one small store and one restaurant.
Daisy finds a dead body in her cranberry bog, and she is the number one murder suspect. Harry Greer helps her with her investigation without realizing Daisy is one of the richest women in the world with her company, Smart Living.
Hunters are secretly entering her property from the Appalachian Trail at night. Harry wants to protect her, but Daisy wants to teach the people in Shady Valley how to eat and live healthily.
Someone wants her dead.
Meet Kathy!
Kathy Cretsinger lives in Kentucky with her husband. She enjoys writing and helping other authors with their manuscripts. She had owned a publishing company until recently but is devoting her time to writing her own books and enjoying her family.
Connect with Kathy on her website, and on Facebook!
Thanks, Kathy, for sharing with us today! I can’t wait for my friends to get their hands on your book – and looking forward to your next book in the Spring!!
Now for the question and an opportunity to win a copy (PB or Kindle) of Bogged Down By Murder! What’s your favorite holiday food, and is it considered “healthy?” I can’t wait to read your answers – I may be asking for some recipes!
Happy Reading, and happy holiday-prep!!
Getting ready for Christmas? Books make amazing gifts, and all my books are available on Amazon!!!
If you’d like signed copies of the following, send me a message on the “Contact” page and I may be able to fix you up! Caution: inventory is low, and it takes a while for me to get more copies!
Carolina Dream (Southern Breeze Series, Book 1)
Sorry, but I’m out of Carolina Mercy and Carolina Grace! Available on Amazon!
Coastal Promises (Novella collection, Southern Breeze story is included!)
Heart Restoration (RenoVations series, Book 1 – Book 2 coming June 2021!)
Hope is Born: Mosaic Christmas Anthology (Includes a RenoVations prequel story!)
A Star Will Rise: Mosaic Christmas Anthology II (also includes a RenoVations story!
My favorite Christmas food is Coconut Orange Balls. 🙂
Oh. My. Goodness. That sounds delightful!! Dare I hope they’re coated in chocolate? I may need that recipe, Julie!! 🙂
That sounds delicious. My husband loves Coconut. I make a Protein Bite which is gluten-free, and it has coconut. He loves them, and they give us plenty of protein.
When I was a child, my mom served turkey for Christmas dinner which was my favorite part of the meal. I would consider turkey healthy compared to fudge, my favorite Christmas treat.
Roxanne, I love, love, LOVE turkey! I promised my family we would have it for Christmas since we had a rather odd Thanksgiving! LOL! But fudge? It’s definitely the favorite around my house! I usually have made a batch by now, but with no girls living at home, I haven’t made any!
I am the turkey eater at my house. My husband does not like it, but I love turkey and dressing. Can I come to your house? I also love fudge, but I have to watch it. I am one person that cannot make it at all.
Gluten harms more people than know it. It’s a big problem in the American diet and hard to give up.
I love the premise for your story, Kathy. Daisy obviously faces struggles, moving to an area riddled with lard, homemade rolls, etc. Lol.
A body floating in the cranberry bog? Who would’ve thought? I can’t imagine the motive for murdering the poor guy. This is getting more interesting by the minute. I wish you mega sales and many great reviews.
Healthy LOL what are you talking about?!
Napoleon cake baked by my mom mmmmm